Putin to run for Russian presidency in 2012

MOSCOW (AP) — Vladimir Putin’s decision to reclaim the presidency next year sets up the possibility he could rule Russia until 2024 and foreshadows a continuation of the strongman rule that many in the West have called a retreat from democracy.

Although Putin departed the Kremlin in 2008 due to term limits and moved down the road to the prime minister’s office, in a sense he never left. He used Russia’s state-controlled national TV channels to remain the country’s pre-eminent political figure.

If he wins the March 4 election — a near-certainty given his popularity and mastery of Russia’s political system — Putin will return to a presidency even more powerful than when he left. In 2012, the presidential term will be extended to six years from four; he would be eligible to serve two terms; and the 59-year-old’s health appears robust.